This Weekend in Houston....

Retablo Exhibition
October 20 - November 8, 2008

Lawndale Art Center is pleased to present its 21st Annual Día de los Muertos series of programs, a celebration of the art, music and practices of Mexico. Lawndale invites Texas artists to create their own interpretation of the traditional tin devotional painting practice in Mexico known as the retablo in this annual exhibition.

Anthony Bourdain Captures Spain, My Heart

Yesterday I saw Anothony Bourdain: No Reservations - Spain. This is by far one of my favorite shows on television. I wish I could find more information on all the chef's he visited with while in Spain. Bourdain describes the Spain episode as "some of the purest, hardest, straight-to-the-action, food porn."

Obviously, it was the chocolate segment that really did me in. Choclatier Enric Rovira of Barcelona sculpts, shaves, airbrushes and melts his chocolate into art. It's basically Easter eggs for the rich.

Neon Slicees

How could you go wrong with these neon Wilmotte Forge de Laguiole knives from France?? The ones shown here are a ridiculous $750. We came across some Forge de Laguile knives (characterized by their sweet little bee details) while we were in Champagne in September. It caught our attention because my Mom had given Jon some for Christmas last year, based on the advice of her Williams-Sonoma-loving boyfriend.

Knowing my Mom's budget, she didn't shell out loads and loads of money for the knives. She found them at Marshall's! It's funny because they have a cult-like following in France, but some people in the US are like whatevs--which is why you can find these fancy knives on the cheap and that is awesome. Win Win.

Grey Gardens

So, I Netflix'ed Grey Gardens a few weeks ago and..man, crazy? I didn't know if I should feel sorry for the Beales or just laugh at their humor. It was clear that they didn't really care what others thought about them, but their reclusive nature was due to previous exploitation. What good would a documentary do for them?

Little Edie had a good time dressing up. I enjoyed seeing her crazy outfits throughout the film. She did have good grasp on color and proportion, which is odd because she also looks like she dresses in the dark. It's kind of eerie to realize how much they have continued to influence today's fashion. I can't wait to see what the Hollywood adaptation will be like. It better bring the sass:

Edith 'Big Edie' Bouvier Beale: Oh, look. That cat's going to the bathroom right behind my portrait.
Edith 'Little Edie' Bouvier Beale: Ughh, how awful.
Edith 'Big Edie' Bouvier Beale: No, I'm glad. I'm glad somebody's doing something what they want to do!

Weekend Images

I had a pretty decent weekend. It was my neice's 10th birthday so I got see her and the little nephew. I am obsessed with watching my nephew grow up, learn new words and mimick everybody. He know sexactly when everyone is watching him and he gets away with everything because we're all like, "Oh haha how funny that he's trying to light a match." Eeek.

On a yucky note, boyfriend hurt the hell out of his ankle playing soccer:( He's getting it x-rayed this morning. Poop.

Wishful Packing

San Miguel de Allende by explauren

I'm beyond excited about my "checkin' it out" trip to San Miguel. It looks like we might be there for 8-10 days and for Day of the Dead. Unfortunately, that region of Mexico is experiencing the rainy season, but at this point I cannot be picky. I'm definitely looking forward to cooler weather. I've packed my dream bag-- a debt-inducing jumble of items that would keep me dry walking through the cobblestone streets and a little delusional considering some of these items are 4X my rent.

peacock umbrella
Vanessa Bruno T-Shirt Dress
Burberry Privet Trench Coat
Olympus Stylus 850 SW waterproof camera
Marc by Marc Jacobs square-face watch
skinny jeans
chunky scarf
Longchamp Pliage waterproof bag
Wellington boots

I'm accepting donations :)

A Coincidence?

The DAY after I ordered these books, Thinking with Type and Designing Brand Identity I received the news I was being laid off.

When my boss told me the news, I literally felt a weight lifted off my shoulders. The weight of working in an industry I wasn't passionate about. Having just decided I wanted to shift the focus of my career from PR to graphic design, it's perfect timing.

In addition to buying these books, I hunted for a Adobe Creative Suite CS3. I finally got it last night. Whether I bought it, found it on my doorstep or downloaded from the Internet, it's going to be a big help in order to hone my skills(and theys need some honing!).

Does anyone have suggestions for staple design guides?